Ads Focus Spotlight on Fair Pay, Supreme Court

As part of its ongoing efforts to educate Americans about the importance of the Supreme Court, the People For the American Way Action Fund today announced a series of ads focusing attention on the confirmation of Samuel Alito and its impact on fair pay for women. The ads, which are now airing, urge Americans to demand fair minded jurists and oppose judicial nominees who obstruct equal pay for women.

The script for one ad reads:

“For years, Lilly Ledbetter was paid far less than the men in her factory for doing the same work — and she proved it in court. But when the company appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, a new justice nominated by George W. Bush and supported by Senator John McCain wrote the opinion that denied her equal pay. Tell John McCain we need judges who will protect fair pay for women — and won’t play politics with our paychecks.”

Similar versions of the ad focus on the pro-Alito votes cast by Senators Susan Collins (ME), Elizabeth Dole (NC), John McCain (AZ), Ted Stevens (AK), Gordon Smith (OR) and John Sununu (NH). The ads are running in the home states of these Senators, as well as in Michigan and Wisconsin.

“The decision to confirm or reject Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court was one of the most consequential votes of the last six years,” said People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert. “Lilly Ledbetter is just one example of the harm that can come when judges bring a political agenda into the courtroom. We’re calling on these senators to make clear that they’ll put principle above politics when it comes to judges.”

You can find more information about Ledbetter v. Goodyear, the Supreme Court ruling that denied Lilly Ledbetter fair pay, at www.CorrectTheCourt.org.